Meghan’s Father Ordered Held After Removing Ankle Monitor While Awaiting Trial
Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was ordered held in federal custody after authorities said he cut off his ankle monitor. He faces a charge of possessing child sexual abuse material, allegations he has denied, and had been released under electronic monitoring pending trial.
Thomas Markle, Meghan’s father, was ordered held in federal custody in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday after authorities said he cut off his ankle monitor while awaiting trial on a charge of possessing child sexual abuse material.
Federal authorities said Markle, 82, removed the device at 1:45 a.m. A judge had previously allowed him to remain out of custody under electronic monitoring.
“Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions,” Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement.
Judge orders him held
Markle appeared in federal court in Tampa after authorities learned the monitor had been removed. A magistrate judge ordered him jailed, and he remains in federal custody.
He was arrested Friday at a care home in Lakeland, Florida, and charged with one count of possession of child pornography. He arrived at court in a wheelchair and did not enter a plea.
The earlier release conditions required Markle to stay under house arrest with electronic monitoring. They also barred him from traveling outside Florida’s Middle District and California’s Central District, contacting minors or using devices that can access the internet.
A judge also ordered a psychiatric evaluation before the case moved forward. A separate written order said Markle’s “housing situation” had become “untenable.”
Search uncovered suspected material
Authorities said a search of two storage units registered to Markle uncovered approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books, containing suspected child sexual abuse material. At least one of the units was in the Los Angeles area.
In a statement announcing the initial arrest, Essayli said the allegations included “photographs depicting himself with minor girls.” He said prosecutors would pursue the case under federal law.
The Justice Department said federal law enforcement learned in October 2026 that an individual had signed an affidavit about suspected material among Markle’s possessions in the Philippines. Investigators then interviewed another person, who told them Markle had rented a storage unit in the Los Angeles area. That information led to the discovery of a second unit; both had been rented since 2008.
Markle’s daughter, Meghan, recently said she was “deeply distressed” by allegations that a collection of such images had been found at her father’s former home. She said a letter containing “troubling allegations” about him had been sent to police in London in 2019.
“I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason: to protect them,” Meghan said.
Markle had a stroke earlier this year while living in the Philippines and had his left leg amputated. He returned to the United States afterward.
